Problems associated with inadvertent needle sticks are well known in the art of blood withdrawal, transdermal medication injection, catheter emplacement and other medical procedures utilizing medical needles. Significant attention is placed on needle stick problems due to the contemporary likelihood of being exposed to AIDS and Hepatitis.
Procedures involving needle withdrawal typically require a technician to use one hand to place pressure at the wound site where a needle is being withdrawn, while removing the needle apparatus with the other hand. Tending technicians typically give higher priority to care for the wound than is given to disposal of a needle. This priority either requires an available sharps container within ready reach or another means for safe disposal without leaving the patient's side. Providing adequate care is often compounded by the patient's condition and mental state, for example, in burn units and psychiatric wards. Proper disposal of a used, exposed needle, while caring for a patient, is often difficult, if not impossible, under these conditions.
The widespread knowledge and history associated with needle care and their disposal problems have resulted in the conception and disclosure of a large number of devices. Though some devices describe application in the area of blood withdrawal, most contemporary related art is directed toward syringes and like devices. Related art may be broadly classified into two categories, devices which operate manually and devices which comprise self-contained needle retraction. Manual withdrawal is generally a two-handed procedure, making wound care a secondary step or requiring an added medical technician. One known self-retracting syringe results from a vacuum force, while others generally involve self-retraction resulting from the release of a cocked or biased spring.
There remains a need to provide a more satisfactory solution to the art of self-retracting needle devices.